9 Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had [j]defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son [k]Joram to King David to [l]greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and [m]defeated him; for Hadadezer [n]had been at war with Toi. And [o]Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. 11 King David also consecrated these gifts to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued: 12 from [p]Aram, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 So David made a name for himself when he returned from [q]killing eighteen thousand [r]Arameans in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David [s]administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary. 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe. 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [t]was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were [u]chief ministers.
Now David was getting famous, and Toi sends gifts to David. Of course there’s the classic saying that “an enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But after all these victories, everyone in that region had to notice.
David doesn’t let it go to his head though. When Toi sends him gifts, he keeps doing what he has been doing this whole time, consecrating them to the Lord.
Rather than hoard them to himself, he dedicates them for use in service to God. David was able to do this because it was already a habit he had created. If you think you’ll be generous when you have more money, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. Be generous in little, and when you have more, it will be much easier to be generous.